Scorpion - A One Shot
by Nadette Wong
Summary: A series of short one-shots updated irregularly. This is my first lot of stories published to the website. Please review and follow, I'd appreciate it as well as any suggestions for future chapters/one-shots. Can be read in any order. Not a shipping fanfiction but rather an in depth explanation of why things are how they are with Team Scorpion.
1. The Rabbit Hole - Happy And Toby

The mechanical prodigy watched as Walter and that son of a bitch Mark Collins were talking about the concepts of time travel in a booth across from herself and Toby. She swished her straw around her glass of soda a little bit, the ice making a light sound as it hit the edges of the glass. She blinked, leaning on her arm in slight boredom and just looking over the table at Toby whilst taking a sip of her drink.

"Asshole." Toby stated quietly as he turned the opposite way of Happy and toward the chattering pair, both of which looked absolutely drained and exhausted but still on a roll. He was looking particularly toward the blonde, cursing at him under his breath.

They were in their own little world again. Every single time they talked there would be days, sometimes weeks, where Mark pulled Walter away from the pair and Sylvester. Not only was Walter pulled away from the group, he was pulled away from reality itself. The two continued to just ramble on and on, day after day, neither of them wanting to be the one to stop the conversation between the 'geniuses'. Although none of the group could really deny that they weren't a brilliant pair together. But Mark ruined everything, including Walter. He was down the rabbit hole yet again.

Happy had rarely received any sleep herself over the past few days. She never relied on anyone but Walter had to rely on her in this instance. If no one had ever decided to help him, he would've died of starvation before anything else. A shitty death for the man smarter than Einstein. She stared off into the distance, a blank expression on her face and rings below her eyes.

"When was the last time you gave him any food?" Toby asked her with a slight concern. The behaviourist had been more pissed than anything at them. He was angry at what they were putting everyone else through. It was stupid. Even for geniuses. They should've at least realized with their 'super amazing genius IQs' that everyone else was suffering because of them. Sylvester couldn't even stand to look at them without beginning to have extreme anxiety.

"You make him sound like a dog." She rolled her eyes at him,

"In this state, he kind of _is_ a dog. Look at the guy."

"I hope that he starves to death and no one finds the body." She stated coldly.

"Happy," He leaned on her table, looking her in the eye. "You can't just leave him to die."

"I know but he's still a pain in the ass."

"Walter is the one that saved us. All of us in our darkest hours. He was there when no one else wanted to be." Toby grabbed her arm from across the table, looking her in the eye. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

"Look Toby, the only way that we'll be getting Walter back is if Collins is gone. And I don't think he wants to lose his playmate for a _long_ time. Also yes, I did feed him."

The man fell silent, loosening his grip as she pulled away, back to swishing the ice against the glass once more. He sighed. He had no idea why he wasn't helping Happy with Walter. Was he scared that he would be held responsible if Walter were to die? Maybe. But God, why couldn't he bring himself to saving the man that had saved him once before?


	2. Good - Happy And Paige

(Set before 'Father's Day')

Things were... Silent in the warehouse. It was rare for moments like these to occur. Everyone was present but no one seemed to want to speak. Sylvester was writing on the blackboard, no doubt calculating the odds of their survival on that job. Walter was engrossed in a video game beside Ralph, giving him tips every now and again although it seemed that the boy already knew everything there was to know. Toby... Well, Toby sat leaning back in his chair, staring off into the distance as he fanned himself with his hat.

Happy closed her eyes for a few moments and as soon as she opened them, the former waitress and newest member of the team stood in front of her. She gave the mechanical prodigy a faint smile.

"Hey..." she said with a small wave.

Happy just stared at her blankly for a few moments before nodding to acknowledge her. Now that she thought about it, the pair had never really had a conversation on their own apart from the exchanging of greetings every now and again.

"Happy, about today..."  
>"Look, don't sweat it. It was no big."<p>

Even though that wasn't entirely true. It almost cost them the job.  
>Happy had been <em>relying <em>on Paige to help her only to have her let her down.

Tools don't let you down.  
>People do.<p>

Wise words she had once given to a wiseass and they stuck, naturally.

She respected Paige. She really did. It must've been tough to be a single mum without a father to take of her child. Ralph was lucky to have _one _parent for him. Happy had none. But her _humanity_ had put everything at risk today. Not cool.

"I'm sorry, Happy. I know it was stupid."  
>"I know you're being sincere about this and I'm fine with that, but you messed up today and you know it. Just don't let it happen again and we're good."<br>"Good?"  
>"Good." Happy gave her a slight smile and watched as the waitress beamed back before walking off towards Walter and her son.<p>

Their conversation was inaudible to her but she could've sworn she saw Walter smile for a second there.

"Now, what's this? Is Happy Quinn going soft? It's a miracle!"

Happy rolled her eyes at the behaviourist. He was lucky she didn't throw a spanner at him.


	3. A Darker Place - Toby

**A/N: This in particular is based on an exchange between Sylvester and Toby in the episode Tech, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll where they mention Toby being in a 'darker place' before Happy was present in his life.**

Never had the shrink needed anyone else as much as now. He spent hours and hours which turned into _nights_ at the casino gambling everything away in hopes of assisting with the finances for Scorpion. The team currently consisted of four people which included himself; the others being Mark, Walter and Sylvester. They were _struggling_ now. This morning, Tobias Curtis returned to the garage down $50 000 than he had been the previous night.

Naturally, Sylvester had noticed an anomaly within the company's already limited funds and informed Walter of them, causing the genius to glare at the male as he entered. Mark appeared to be attempting to fix a sign with the title of 'Scorpion Electronics', however everyone found that machines weren't quite his forte and screws tended to fly through the air more so than usual.

The gambler shook as he made his way up the stairs, not making any eye contact with the remainder of the team. It was one of his biggest fears; showing psychological weakness to anything around the other members. They would analyse him, taunt him and read him like a book as he did to all of them daily. It was all in good fun.

It was always in good fun.

Once reaching to top of the creaky staircase, he was met by the analyst of the group. The man readjusted the glasses on his nose, his other hand curled into a fist. He wanted to speak. Toby took a deep breath, looking up at him with seemingly innocent eyes, yet on the inside he was suffering severely from his loss and what it would mean to everyone. He continued to let him down again and again. The man started speaking yet the other was unable to process his words. That would be another couple of months without electricity. And that was an understatement. This wasn't Toby's first rodeo. The behaviourist had his good days and bad yet the bad seemed to be reoccurring more often than usual, leaving Team Scorpion in great debt.

"We're here for you, Toby. We're _all_ here for you." He finished sincerely with a half-smile toward one of his closest friends. "We're a team."

"We."

"Yes, we."

"There's no _we_ in Scorpion, Sylvester." He replied sharply, staring blankly at the man who seemed to be growing more anxious by the minute.

The other man's mind was probably glazing over thoughts along the lines of _what would Super Fun Guy do?_ But Toby wasn't having any of it. He was sick of it. He was sick of everything happening. Mark and Walter. The endless financial struggle. All of it. Scorpion. He was sick of _Scorpion_. He wanted out.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

He spun back around, beginning his descent from the stairs. He would find business elsewhere.

"Not good!" a voice yelled, filling the garage as the sign fell from the ceiling, causing sparks to fly through the air as well as a loud crash. He observed blankly from the step he was currently on. "What the hell are you doing? You didn't even screw the cover back on!"

His eyes scanned the garage until they fell upon those of a young Asian woman, who continued to tell off Collins much to Toby's amusement and was now in the process of rolling her eyes. It made him smile a little. Genuinely. That was something that no one had been able to do for a while now and it caused him slight confusion.

"Happy, this is Mark Collins, that's Toby Curtis and Sylvester Dodd is upstairs as of this moment in time." Walter explained, pointing to each of us in turn.

Her gaze was unimpressed as it looked around the broken lights and electronic gadgets lying about the place. "I see why you called me now." she said, blinking of disbelief. "Give me a couple of days. I'll fix it."

"Actually, I was thinking about a more _permanent_ spot on the team." Walter admitted plainly, looking at Happy as he awaited a response.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "We'll see. I'll fix it." She repeated to herself, although now her eyes were now locked with those belonging to Toby.


	4. In Loving Memory - Paige and Sylvester

_**A/N: I'm really sorry that this isn't updated frequently. I only do it when ideas spring to mind that can make for a good read between characters. Feel free to leave suggestions of what I can tackle, though!**_

It was two days after the death of Megan Dodd. Everyone within the garage had seen it coming sooner or later. It was inevitable, even if some were in denial about it at the time. The atmosphere was quiet but still bustling as Sylvester kept a smile on his face, currently hobbling up the stairs. There was one less soul on the planet. One of which, had touched the hearts of every member of Scorpion some way or another. She may as well have been a part of the team; she was certainly a part of the family already.

They hadn't met her until recently but during the brief time they knew her, an unbreakable bond had been formed. There was no one quite like Megan. There was never going to be again. She made the most of her final days. Her husband had made sure of it.

Currently, the only rapid movement in the garage was from Sylvester. Walter hadn't showed to work ever since she passed, although Toby found it highly unlikely that he was in mourning. Paige gave a concerned glance to Sylvester as he left before opening her mouth to speak, "Someone should go and talk to him."

"After the death of his wife? Yeah, good luck not getting him to be an emotional train wreck." The behaviourist replied in a solemn tone.

"He hasn't shed a tear since she died, you know. Even a genius needs to be an emotional train wreck once in a while."

Toby was prepared for a snarky remark but held it back at the reality of the situation, at this point also recalling the girl of which refused to do the same. He would do anything to get Happy to open up to him; to release the emotions which had been building up since the day she'd been left behind. He looked over to the woman on the opposite side of the garage as she beat away at a machine of some sorts. It didn't matter what it was, it would always be fascinating to him, just as she was. He recalled the topic at hand, looking back to Paige with a helpless look.

"Why don't you go and talk to him then? He trusts you."

"But you're the one that was trained in psych-"

"I'm an asshole, you're _Paige_."

She saw no more point in arguing with him, taking a light sigh and shutting her eyes for a few moments before heading up the staircase, her head kept down until she reached the top. Once there, she gave a slight smile in the direction of the genius.

"Hey there Sly," She began with a pause, walking over before taking a seat on the couch beside him. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine. I'm just taking a small break before going back to working on something. It's for Megan. Is there something you needed?" He replied, the smile still ever present on his face.

"I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure everything's alright."

"Everything is fine, Paige. I understand that you're probably concerned about me but I swear; I'm fine."

His voice cracked at the final sentence, causing him to pull his gaze away from hers.

The pair continued to sit in silence for a while longer before Sylvester broke it once more.

"I want to remember her." He began quietly, looking back at Paige with tears beginning the well in his eyes. "I want _everyone _to remember her. The time we had was short but I loved it. I loved _her_. There's never going to be another Megan."

Paige remained silent, simply putting her arms around the man, gently patting him on the back.

"I know, Sylvester."

Tears turned into uncontrollable sobs which began to fill the emptiness of the garage.


End file.
